Bylaws

Legal Authorities

The messengers from missionary societies, churches, and other religious bodies of the Baptist denomination in various parts of the United States met in Augusta, Georgia, May 8, 1845, for the purpose of carrying into effect the benevolent intention of our constituents by organizing a plan for eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the denomination for the propagation of the gospel and adopted rules and fundamental principles which, as amended from time to time, are as follows...

In 1960 the Southern Baptist Convention adopted the following bylaw. It shall be the function of the Executive Committee:
- To maintain an official organization manual defining the responsibilities of each agency of the Convention for conducting specific programs and for performing other functions. The SBC Organization Manual is also available as a PDF Download.

BYLAWS

In order to carry out the provisions of the Constitution, the following Bylaws are adopted for the government of
the Convention:

Convention Session:

The Convention shall open with the Tuesday morning session and continue through Wednesday, holding
such sessions as the Committee on Order of Business finds necessary for the conduct of business, except that
sufficient time on Wednesday afternoon shall be reserved for seminary luncheons and other necessary
meetings.

The Convention sermon and president’s message shall be considered as fixed orders at the time designated by
the committee on Order of Business.

A messenger may speak in debate for longer than three minutes only with the permission of the Convention
granted by a two-thirds vote.

A messenger may introduce a second motion during a business session only if no other messenger is seeking
the floor who has not made a motion during that session.

Presentation of Outside Causes: Causes other than those provided for in the regular work of the Convention
may be presented to the Convention upon authority of officers of the Convention in conference with the
Committee on Order of Business in such ways and at such times as may be dictated by the courtesies of the case
and the necessities of the program.

Convention Site:

No city shall be considered as a meeting place for the Southern Baptist Convention in which there is a
considerable distance between the available hotels and the Convention hall.

No meetings other than the Convention services shall be held in the Convention hall during the sessions of
the Convention. Every service held in the Convention auditorium shall be under the direction of the
Committee on Order of Business.

Exhibits: All exhibits of every description shall be rigidly excluded from those parts of the place of meeting
where the people visiting the exhibits will disturb the proceedings of the Convention, their locations to be
determined by the Executive Committee or its agent. The Executive Committee of the Convention shall have
exclusive control of all exhibit space.

Book of Reports:

Copy for reports and recommendations to the Convention shall be submitted to the recording secretary by
March 1, unless circumstances beyond the control of the reporting entity or committee make it impossible.

Recommendations of entities and committees of the Convention may not be voted upon until the
recommendations have been printed in the Book of Reports or the Convention Bulletin. The recording
secretary is authorized to provide the Baptist Press and other interested parties, upon their request, copies of
recommendations requiring Convention action.

Convention Annual: The Convention Annual containing reports and actions of the Convention and other
pertinent material shall be published as soon as possible after the meeting of the Convention and shall be made
available without charge to all active pastors and denominational agents.

Bulletin:

The Executive Committee of the Convention shall have printed each day a sufficient number of brief reports,
or bulletins, of the Journal of Proceedings, reporting specifically matters of business proposed and acted
upon, including the names of committees appointed, reports of the committees, and such business as may be
transacted and carried over to the following day, also including a list of the titles or subjects of the resolutions
presented and the names of the persons presenting them.

Such report, or bulletin, shall not include speeches or addresses or any comment thereon, a photograph, or
any personal reference to any messenger of the Convention, but shall be only a resume of the business
transacted during that day.

Messenger Credentials and Registration:

Each person elected by a church cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention as a messenger to the
Southern Baptist Convention shall be registered as a messenger to the Convention upon presentation of
proper credentials. Credentials shall be presented by each messenger, in person, at the Convention
registration desk and shall be in the following form:

(1) A completed, properly authorized, official Southern Baptist Convention registration document,
certifying the messenger’s election in accordance with Article III. Composition, of the Constitution of the
Southern Baptist Convention; but if the messenger does not have the messenger registration document,

(2) A letter from the messenger’s church, signed by the pastor, clerk or moderator of the church, certifying
the messenger’s election in accordance with Article III. Composition, of the Constitution of the Southern
Baptist Convention; or

(3) Some other document (which may include a fax, email, or other physical or electronically transmitted
document) from the messenger’s church which is deemed reliable by the Credentials Committee or qualifies
under guidelines approved by the registration secretary and the Credentials Committee.

Messengers registered in accordance with this section shall constitute the Convention.

The president of the Convention, in consultation with the vice presidents, shall appoint, at least thirty (30)
days before the annual session, a Credentials Committee to serve at the forthcoming sessions of the Convention.
This committee shall review and rule upon any questions which may arise in registration concerning the
credentials of messengers. Any such ruling may be appealed to the Convention during business session. Any
contention arising on the floor concerning seating of messengers shall be referred to the committee for
consideration and the committee shall report back to the Convention.

The registration secretary shall be at the place of the annual meeting at least one (1) day prior to the
convening of the first session of the Southern Baptist Convention for the purpose of opening the registration desk and registering messengers. The registration secretary also shall convene the Credentials Committee at least one
day prior to the annual meeting and shall assist the committee in reviewing questions concerning messenger
credentials. The registration secretary shall report to the Convention the number of registered messengers.

Address of Welcome: There may be one (1) address of welcome limited to ten (10) minutes and one (1) response
thereto limited to ten (10) minutes.

Election of Officers and Voting:

The president, the first and second vice presidents, and the secretaries shall be elected at the Convention, their terms of office to begin at the final adjournment.

Election of officers shall be by ballot, provided however that if there is only one (1) nomination, and no other person desires to nominate, the secretary or anyone designated for the purpose may cast the ballot of the Convention. If an officer does not receive a majority of votes cast on the first ballot, subsequent ballots shall carry the names of those who are included in the top 50 percent of the total votes cast in the previous ballot.

Nominating speeches for officers of the Convention shall be limited to one (1) address of not more than three (3) minutes for each nominee.

The president, in consultation with the registration secretary, shall appoint tellers. The tabulation of any vote by the tellers or otherwise (such as by electronic means) shall be under the supervision of the registration secretary. The president or registration secretary shall announce election and voting results to the Convention as soon as practicable.

Any materials, instructions, and/or devices necessary to vote shall be made available to the messengers.

No proxy voting is permitted. All propositions, decisions, and choices shall be by a majority vote of the messengers present and voting in person, except where provisions have been made for a greater than majority vote. Except for officer elections, votes may be taken by ballot, by voice, by rising, by show of hands, by common consent, or by some other acceptable method. “Ballot” shall include electronic voting that protects the integrity of the voting process and provides for messengers’ votes to remain confidential.

The quorum for conducting business at a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention shall be those present.

Parliamentary Authority and Parliamentarians: The parliamentary authority of the Southern Baptist
Convention shall be Robert’s Rules of Order (latest revised edition). The Convention president, in conference
with the vice presidents, shall select a chief parliamentarian and assistant parliamentarians, as necessary, to advise
the presiding officers of the Convention on matters of parliamentary procedure. The chief parliamentarian shall be
a person of experience and knowledge, sufficient to qualify him or her to serve as parliamentarian to the Southern
Baptist Convention, and he or she shall be certified by the American Institute of Parliamentarians and/or the
National Association of Parliamentarians. It shall be the responsibility of the president and treasurer of the
Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to sign, on behalf of the Executive Committee, any
contracts or letters of agreement related to the services of the chief parliamentarian.

Ministry Leaders: Leaders of Southern Baptist Convention entities shall be admitted to the Convention sessions
and shall be authorized to serve as resource persons for discussion of those matters which affect their areas of
ministry responsibility.

Memorial Services: The Committee on Order of Business is instructed to arrange for any memorial service to be
held during the Convention.

Auxiliary: Woman’s Missionary Union, Birmingham, Alabama, is an auxiliary of the Convention.

Committee on Nominations:

The Committee on Nominations shall be composed of two (2) members from each qualified state,
who shall be elected by the Convention. Nominations for each position shall be made by the
Committee on Committees. The Committee on Committees shall make its recommendation of nominees to the Convention in the form of a single motion to elect all those persons it
recommends for the Committee on Nominations. The motion may be amended but no messenger
shall be allowed to propose more than one (1) person at a time for election. When adopted by the
Convention, the motion of the Committee on Committees, as amended, shall constitute the
election of the persons named in the motion to the Committee on Nominations. One (1) person
nominated to the Committee on Nominations from each state shall be a person not employed full
time by (or retired from) a church or denominational entity. Persons nominated to the Committee
on Nominations shall have been resident members for at least three (3) years of Southern Baptist
churches either geographically within the states or affiliated with the conventions of the states
from which they are elected.

The Committee on Nominations thus elected shall prepare its report through the year, carefully following the
provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Convention and the documents of the respective Convention
entities, and shall recommend to the next Convention the following:

(1) Members of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention

(2) Directors/trustees of the boards of the Convention

(3) Trustees of the institutions of the Convention

(4) Trustees of the commissions of the Convention

(5) Members of any standing committees

Excluding the president and recording secretary of the Convention, and the president of Woman’s Missionary
Union, and unless otherwise specifically permitted or required by these bylaws, no person shall be eligible to
be elected or appointed to serve simultaneously on more than one of the boards, institutions, commissions, or
committees of the Convention, or as a member of the Executive Committee, and no person shall be elected or
appointed to serve on one of these bodies if that person’s spouse has been elected or appointed to serve on
one of these bodies for a time which would be simultaneous.

The committee shall not recommend a fellow committee member or the member’s spouse or a member of the
previous year’s Committee on Committees or the member’s spouse for a first term on an entity.

The committee shall recognize the principle that the persons it recommends shall represent the constituency
of the Convention, rather than the staff of the entity.

No person and no person’s spouse shall be eligible to serve on the board of any one of the above entities (1)
from which the person receives, directly or indirectly, any form of payment or financial benefit except for
reimbursements for reasonable and authorized expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of a trustee,
or, (2) which provides funds for which he/she has a duty of administration. When such conditions become
applicable, that person or that person’s spouse shall be considered as having resigned and such vacancy shall
be filled in accordance with established Convention procedure.

All of the above entities shall include both church or denominational employees and those who are not
church or denominational employees. Not more than two-thirds of the members of any of these entities shall
be drawn from either category. Where a person was serving as a church or denominational employee at the
time of retirement, he/she should be counted as a church or denominational employee after retirement as far
as the work of the Committee on Nominations is concerned.

Any person elected to serve on any of the boards, institutions, commissions, or the Executive Committee,
shall at the time of such election have been continuously a resident member for at least the preceding three
(3) years of a church or churches which were in those years in friendly cooperation with the Convention and
sympathetic with its purposes and work, and, where representation is by qualifying states, which were either
geographically within the state or affiliated with the convention of the state from which the person is elected.
Any person who is a member of one of these entities shall be considered as having resigned when the person
ceases to be a resident member of a church either geographically within the state or affiliated with the
convention of the state from which he/she has been elected as a representative.

No person who has served on the board of an entity or on the Executive Committee shall be eligible to serve
on the board of any entity or on the Executive Committee until two years after the conclusion of his or her
term of office, except that a person may be re-elected to an authorized successive term or serve by virtue of a
separate office.

The report of the Committee on Nominations shall be released to Baptist Press no later than 45 days prior to
the annual meeting of the Convention and shall be published in the first day’s Bulletin. Persons desiring to
amend the report of the Committee on Nominations are encouraged to publicize the nature of their
amendment sufficiently in advance of the annual meeting of the Convention to allow information concerning
the amendment to be made available to Convention messengers.

The Committee on Nominations shall make its recommendation to the Convention in the form of a motion to
elect those persons it recommends for specific terms of office. The motion may be amended but no
messenger shall be allowed to propose more than one (1) person at a time for election. When adopted by the
Convention, the motion of the Committee on Nominations, as amended, shall constitute the election of the
persons named in the motion to their respective terms of office.

Vacancies on Boards: All entities shall report all vacancies on the entities to the Committee on Nominations
immediately on the occurrence of such vacancies. Any entity’s board may make interim appointments only when
authorized by its charter. Any such appointment shall only be of a person who is eligible and qualified both to be
elected by the Convention and to serve according to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Southern Baptist
Convention.

Fraternal Messengers:

The Convention shall send a fraternal messenger to the annual sessions of the American Baptist Churches and
the National Baptist conventions. The expenses of the fraternal messengers incurred while in attendance
upon the conventions herein named shall be included in the items of Convention expenses.

The fraternal messenger to the American Baptist Churches shall be the president of the Southern Baptist
Convention at the time of the meeting of the American Baptist Churches, and he shall also be the fraternal
messenger to the other National Baptist conventions named. If the president is unable to attend, he shall be
authorized to name another officer as a substitute.

The fraternal messengers to other Baptist bodies or other religious bodies may be elected by the Convention
as occasion may require. The expenses of such messengers shall be borne by the messengers themselves
unless specifically provided for by the Convention.

The Executive Committee:

The Executive Committee shall consist of the president and the recording secretary of the Convention, the
president of the Woman’s Missionary Union, and one (1) member from each cooperating state of the
Convention subject to the provisions of Section 30 of the Bylaws. When the membership of cooperating
Baptist churches in a given state shall have reached two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000), there shall be
elected an additional member of the Executive Committee, one (1) of whom shall be a person not employed
full time by a church or denominational entity; and, further, there shall be an additional member for each two
hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) members providing that the number of members from each cooperating
state shall be limited to five (5); and, further, that not more than two-thirds shall be drawn from either persons
employed full time by a church or denominational entity or persons not employed full time by a church or
denominational entity. No salaried official of the Convention or of any of its entities or any member of any
board or board of trustees or commission of the Convention or any salaried official of any state convention or
of any entity of a state convention may be a member of the Executive Committee, but these restrictions shall
not apply in case of the president, the president of Woman’s Missionary Union, and the recording secretary
of the Convention.

Members shall be divided into four (4) groups as nearly equal as possible and shall hold office for four (4)
years, one-fourth going out of office each year.

A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.

The Executive Committee shall elect a president, who shall also be treasurer, and other officers and staff who
may be needed. All the main executive officers and all the office employees who handle funds shall be
bonded, and no salaried officer or employee shall be a member of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be the fiduciary, the fiscal, and the executive entity of the Convention in all
its affairs not specifically committed to some other board or entity.

The Executive Committee is specifically authorized, instructed, and commissioned to perform the following
functions:

(1) To act for the Convention ad interim in all matters not otherwise provided for.

(2) To be named in transfers of real and personal property for the use and benefit of the Convention either
by deed, conveyance, will, or otherwise and to affix the seal of the Convention to all approved
transactions; and to take title to and hold or to convey title to all properties, real or personal, and all
funds, monies, and securities that are donated or transferred or left by will to or for the use of the
Convention. As to such properties, funds, monies, and securities as the Executive Committee shall hold
and not convey title to, the Executive Committee shall be custodian of such, holding them in trust for the
Convention to be managed, controlled, and administered by the Executive Committee in accordance
with the direction, general or specific, of the Convention. Rules governing the handling of securities set
out in Article VII, Section 3, of the Constitution shall be observed by the Executive Committee.

(3) To receive and receipt for all current funds of the Convention including all undesignated cooperative
missionary, educational, and benevolent funds and all current special or designated funds for missionary,
educational, and benevolent purposes which may be contributed by individuals, churches, societies,
corporations, associations, or state conventions; and to disburse all undesignated funds, according to the
percentages fixed by the Convention and all the designated funds according to the stipulations of the
donors. The Executive Committee shall keep the accounts of all inter-entity groups and shall disburse
their funds on requisition of the properly constituted officers of the inter-entity organization.

(4) To recommend to the Convention a time and place and to have oversight of the arrangements for the
meetings of the Convention, with authority to change both the time and place of the meetings in
accordance with the provisions of Article XI, Section 3, of the Constitution.

(5) To act in an advisory capacity on all questions of cooperation among the different entities of the
Convention, and among the entities of the Convention and those of other conventions, whether state or
national.

(6) To present to the Convention each year a consolidated and comprehensive financial statement of the
Convention and all its entities, which statement shall show the assets and liabilities of the Convention
and all its entities, and all the cash and other receipts of the year.

(7) To present to the Convention a comprehensive budget for the Convention and for all its entities, which
budget shall include the budgets of all the entities of the Convention whether or not they receive
Cooperative Program funds, as reviewed by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall
recommend the amount of Convention funds which may be allocated to each cause. It shall not
recommend any direct allocation of funds for any entity or institution for which the Convention does not
elect trustees or directors.

(8) To conduct the general work of promotion and the general work of publicity for the Convention in
cooperation with the entities of the Convention. The Executive Committee shall provide a Convention
relations service and a Convention news service to interpret and publicize the overall Southern Baptist
ministry. These services shall be available to support the work of all Convention entities and ministries.

(9) To maintain open channels of communication between the Executive Committee and the trustees of the
entities of the Convention, to study and make recommendations to entities concerning adjustments
required by ministry statements or by established Convention policies and practices, and, whenever
deemed advisable, to make recommendations to the Convention. The Executive Committee shall not
have authority to control or direct the several boards, entities, and institutions of the Convention. This is
the responsibility of trustees elected by the Convention and accountable directly to the Convention.

(10) To make its own bylaws in keeping with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Convention in carrying out
these instructions to the Executive Committee; to hold meetings whenever deemed necessary; to make
reports of all meetings to the Convention; to notify all the boards, entities, and institutions of the actions
of the Convention and to advise with them as to the best way of promoting all the interests of the
Convention.

(11) To derive, in accordance with the action of the Convention in Atlanta in 1944, the expenses of the
Executive Committee from the Operating Budget of the Convention specifically established for this
purpose and formally approved by the Convention.

(12) To utilize an appropriate report format which will enable the Executive Committee to obtain from the
entities adequate and comparable information about ministry plans, accomplishments, and financial data.

(13) To maintain an official organization manual defining the responsibilities of each entity of the
Convention for conducting specific ministries and for performing other functions. The manual shall cite
the actions of the Convention that assigned the ministries and other functions to the entity. The
Executive Committee shall present to the Convention recommendations required to clarify the
responsibilities of the entities for ministries and other functions, to eliminate overlapping assignments of
responsibility, and to authorize the assignment of new responsibilities for ministries or functions to
entities.

(14) To send copies of the minutes of the Executive Committee to the heads of all Southern Baptist
Convention entities, and copies of the minutes of all entities shall be sent to the office of the Executive
Committee.

Committee on Committees: A Committee on Committees, composed of two (2) members from each
qualified state and the District of Columbia, shall be appointed by the president, in conference with the
vice presidents, of whom one (1) shall be designated as chairperson. Persons named to the Committee
on Committees shall have been resident members for at least three (3) years of Southern Baptist
churches either geographically within the states or affiliated with the conventions of the states from which they are appointed. Members so named shall be notified by the president in writing, at least 45
days before the meeting of the Convention. Their names shall be released by the president to Baptist
Press no later than 45 days prior to the annual meeting of the Convention, and their names shall be
published in the first issue of the Convention Bulletin. The president may fill any vacancies on the
committee when those originally named do not attend the Convention. This committee shall nominate
all special committees authorized during the sessions of the Convention not otherwise provided for.
All special Convention committees shall transfer, upon their discharge, all official files to the
Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Committee on Resolutions: At least seventy-five (75) days in advance of the Convention, the president, in
conference with the vice presidents, shall appoint a Committee on Resolutions to consist of ten (10) members, any
two (2) of whom shall have served as Committee on Resolutions members during the prior year, and any three (3)
of whom shall be members of the Executive Committee. One of the Committee members shall be designated as
chairperson. Members so named shall be notified by the president in writing at least 75 days before the annual
meeting of the Convention. The names of the members of the Committee on Resolutions shall be released by the
president to Baptist Press no later than 75 days prior to the annual meeting of the Convention, and their names
shall be published in the first issue of the Convention Bulletin.

In order to facilitate thorough consideration and to expedite the Committee’s work, all proposed resolutions shall:

1) Be submitted to the Committee for review and consideration as early as April 15th, but no later than fifteen
(15) days prior to the next SBC annual meeting,

2) Be addressed to the Committee on Resolutions in care of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist
Convention at its registered or e-mail address (electronic copies are preferred),

3) Be typewritten, titled, and dated,

4) Be accompanied by a letter from a church qualified to send a messenger to the annual meeting of the
Southern Baptist Convention certifying that the person submitting the resolution is a member in good
standing, and

5) Include complete contact information for both the person submitting it, and his or her church.

No person may submit more than three resolutions per year. The Committee on Resolutions shall prepare and
submit to each annual meeting of the Convention only such resolutions the Committee recommends for adoption.
Such resolutions may be based upon proposals received by the Committee or may originate with the Committee.
Only resolutions recommended by the Committee may be considered by the Convention, except the Convention
may, by a 2/3 vote, consider any other resolution properly submitted to the Committee.

A list of the titles of all properly submitted proposed resolutions shall be printed in the Convention Bulletin. The
list shall include the name and city of each person properly submitting a resolution, and the disposition of each
proper submission.

Committee on Order of Business: The Committee on Order of Business, a standing committee, shall consist of
seven (7) members – the president of the Convention and six (6) other members, two (2) of whom shall be elected
each year for a term of three (3) years and two (2) of whom shall be persons not employed full time by a church or
denominational entity. No member of the committee can succeed himself or herself. The committee shall suggest
an order of business for the next meeting of the Convention. It shall provide periods of time during the
Convention for the introduction of all matters requiring a vote not scheduled on the agenda, and, when introduced
(unless the Convention then gives its unanimous consent for its immediate consideration) shall fix times for the
consideration of the same. All such matters of business shall be introduced to the Convention by the end of the
afternoon session of the first day of the annual meeting of the Convention. When practicable it shall give notice in
the Convention Bulletin of the substance of the motion or resolution and the time for its consideration. If unable
to give notice in the Bulletin, it shall cause announcement to be made from the floor of the Convention of the
same, action thereon to be taken at the subsequent session of that Convention. The committee shall recommend to
the Convention a preacher for the succeeding Convention sermon and the director of music. The director of music
shall be elected annually and the term of office is limited to two (2) years. The director of music shall not be
eligible for re-election until as much as one (1) year has elapsed from the time a successor is named.

Notification of Committees: Within thirty (30) days after the Convention adjourns, the recording secretary shall
notify the members of all committees of their appointment and all chairpersons of their position and furnish each
one a list of that committee. The recording secretary shall also notify all board members, trustees of institutions,
and commission members of their appointment.

The Great Commission Council: The Great Commission Council shall serve as the organization through which
the various entities and the auxiliary of the Convention will correlate their work. The membership of the Great
Commission Council shall be composed of the chief executives of The Executive Committee of the Southern
Baptist Convention, the auxiliary of the Convention, and the entities named in Bylaw 14.

The work of the Council shall be in keeping with its prescribed functions. It will neither launch nor execute
ministries; it will formulate no policies, except those which govern its own activities. Its chief purpose is that
of consultation, communication, and cooperation. The scope of its work will be that of:

(3) considering the means for helping the churches fulfill their divine mission in Bible teaching, evangelism,

world missions, stewardship, Christian training, education, and Christian social service;

(4) finding ways for effective cooperation in promoting the total work of the Southern Baptist Convention;

(5) considering the significant factors affecting the work and witness of the denomination; and

(6) seeking to find the means through which the power of the Christian gospel may be comprehensively and
effectively applied to the ends of the earth.

In the matter of relationships:

(1) the Council is not, itself, an entity of the Convention;

(2) it has no authority over the several entities;

(3) its decisions are not binding on the entities, since the boards and commissions must retain the authority
to reach the decisions required to carry out their own responsibilities;

(4) its relationship to the entities is purely advisory;

(5) the Council does not report formally either to the Convention or the Executive Committee, nor does the
Convention refer matters directly to the Great Commission Council;

(6) it may receive from and refer to the Executive Committee problems for consideration;

(7) it is not required to take formal action with regard to matters referred to it by the Executive Committee
in serving as a channel of cooperation and correlation relative to the work of the Convention; and

(8) the Council sustains no direct relationship with state conventions or local churches, but it will strive to
be mindful of the needs of the churches as well as the functions and ministries of the several
conventions.

Ministry Statements: The ministry statements of the entities as approved by the Southern Baptist Convention
and published in the 1967 Annual and subsequently amended, renamed, or rewritten, and approved by the
Convention, express the policy of the Convention with respect to the ministries of the entities of the Convention.

New Enterprises and Abolishing of Entities: No new enterprise, involving expenditure of money, shall be
authorized by the Convention except upon favorable action by the Convention in two (2) succeeding annual
meetings; provided, however, that this restriction shall not apply to a recommendation of an entity of the
Convention concerning its own work. No entity shall be discontinued without a majority vote at two (2)
successive annual sessions of the Convention.

Procedures:

Method of Procedure for Entities: To facilitate consideration and discussion of the interests of the
Convention, the following method of procedure is hereby adopted:

(1) Printed reports of the boards, institutions, commissions, and standing committees shall be consolidated
into the Book of Reports for distribution to messengers on their enrollment;

(2) Reports of all special commissions and standing committees, containing recommendations for the
Convention's action, shall be included in the Book of Reports; and

(3) All recommendations of each board, institution, commission, special committee, and standing
committee shall be printed together at the end of its report before they may be considered by the
Convention. In case any entity or committee shall be unable to comply with this requirement, its
recommendation shall be printed in the Convention Bulletin before consideration and action by the
Convention. Recommendations by an entity which are not published in the Book of Reports or the Convention Bulletin shall, when presented to the Convention, be referred to the Executive Committee or
to such other committee as the Convention may direct.

Procedure for Motions of Messengers Concerning Entities: Motions made by messengers dealing with
internal operations or ministries of an entity shall be referred to the elected board of the entity for
consideration and report to the constituency and to the next annual meeting of the Convention for action with
the exception that the Committee on Order of Business may be instructed by a two-thirds vote to arrange for
consideration at a subsequent session of the same Convention, subject to provision of Bylaw 21.

On all matters referred by the Convention, entities shall respond in writing at the close of their report in the
Book of Reports and Annual, giving specific information on:

(1) how the matter referred was considered;

(2) how it was reported to the constituency; and

(3) any actions on the matter taken by the entity or action proposed to the Convention.

Limitations: The last one-third of the time allotted for consideration of every entity report before the
Convention shall be reserved for discussion from the floor.

Publicity and Press Representative:

Boards, institutions, and special committees dealing with matters of general importance and interest shall
have in the hands of the press representative of the Convention, at least one (1) week in advance, copies of
digests of their report to be submitted to the approaching Convention.

The press representative shall cooperate with the representatives of the secular press in furnishing intelligent,
accurate, and creditable reports of this Convention while in session.

Closing of Books: Entities of the Convention shall close their books and accounts and have them audited as of
midnight September 30, or in the case of the seminaries, July 31, or in the case of the mission boards, December
31. Supplemental reports for the period between the closing of the books of the entities and the Convention
session should be included in the reports to the Convention.

Participation in Convention Affairs: To allow participation in the affairs of the Convention, any member of a
church who is eligible to be a messenger to the Convention may be appointed teller, a member of the Credentials
Committee, a member of the Committee on Resolutions, and/or a member of the Convention’s special committees.

Representation From Qualified States and Territories:

When the cooperating Baptist churches in a state or defined territory have fifteen thousand (15,000)
members, an initial application may be filed for representation on the Executive Committee, the Committee
on Committees, and the Committee on Nominations.

When the cooperating Baptist churches have twenty thousand (20,000) members, an updated application may
be filed for representation on the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, and LifeWay
Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, unless otherwise provided in the Board’s charter.

When the cooperating Baptist churches have twenty-five thousand (25,000) members, an updated application
may be filed for representation on GuideStone Financial Resources, the commissions, and institutions, unless
otherwise provided in the commission’s or institution’s charter, and on the standing committees of the
Convention, all as provided by the Bylaws of the Convention.

The application in each instance shall be filed with the Executive Committee, through its president, prior to
its February meeting. The application shall contain information as specified by the Executive Committee.

Upon receiving the initial application, the Executive Committee shall investigate all matters pertaining to the
request and make a recommendation to the Southern Baptist Convention at its next annual meeting. If the
recommendation of the Executive Committee is favorable to the application, a copy of the recommendation
shall be forwarded to the president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the chairman of the Committee on
Committees prior to the next annual meeting of the Convention.

Upon receipt of the favorable recommendation of the Executive Committee on the initial application in (1)
above, the president of the Convention, in conference with the vice presidents, shall appoint two (2) persons
from the state or territory to serve as members of the Committee on Committees, and the Committee on
Committees shall nominate two (2) persons from the state or territory to serve on the Committee on
Nominations, all conditional upon the approval of the application by the Southern Baptist Convention.

Those elected by the Convention shall be immediately eligible to begin their appropriate terms of service

Adoption of Reports: The adoption of recommendations contained in reports to the Convention shall not bind
the Convention on any other matters in the body of the reports; but the Convention reserves the right to consider
and amend the body of all reports.

As to Violation of State Laws: All incorporated entities of the Convention shall be required to comply with the
letter and spirit of the Constitution insofar as it is not in conflict with the statute law of the state in which an entity
is incorporated, and nothing herein contained shall be construed to require any such incorporated entity to act and
carry on its affairs in conflict with the law of the state of its incorporation. In case any action of any entity of the
Convention is found to be a violation of the law of the state of its incorporation, said action shall be reported by
that entity to the Convention for appropriate action.

Charters of Entities, Subsidiaries, and Ancillary Organizations: The charters of all entities of the Convention
shall provide that the trustees or directors of such entities be elected by the Convention, and that the charters may
not be further amended without the prior consent of the Convention. The charters of all subsidiaries of any entity
of the Convention shall provide that they may not be further amended without the prior consent of the Convention
or its Executive Committee. No entity of the Convention shall establish a subsidiary corporation or any other
legal entity or form for conducting its affairs, nor acquire a controlling interest or greater than a 25% interest in
any other corporation or business enterprise, until the Convention or its Executive Committee has approved the
same and its governing instruments. An entity of the Convention shall not undertake through a subsidiary or by
any other means any action which, if undertaken by the entity itself, would violate the Constitution, Bylaws, or
Business and Financial Plan of the Convention.

Quorum: The quorum for conducting business during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention
shall be a minimum of 25 percent of those duly registered and seated messengers.

Trustee Absenteeism:

Upon the request of any entity, the Convention may remove from office any trustee/director of that entity
who has excessive unexcused absences. Following such removal, the Convention shall elect a successor to
complete the term of office of the person removed.

An entity shall give written notice of any request to remove a trustee/director for absenteeism at least one
hundred twenty (120) days prior to the meeting of the Convention which shall consider the removal. The
notice shall be given to the president of the Convention, the president/chief executive officer of the Executive
Committee, the chairman of the Committee on Nominations, and the individual trustee/director whose
removal shall be considered.

If required by state law, an entity shall incorporate this procedure in its charter or bylaws prior to requesting
the Convention to remove any trustee.

Amendments: The Bylaws may be amended pursuant to Bylaw 21 by a two-thirds majority vote at any time
except during the last session of the Convention. Bylaw 14, which lists the entities and auxiliary of the
Convention, may be amended by a majority vote of two (2) successive annual meetings.